An agric consultant, Dr Chijioke Mekanma has blamed the increase in prices of food items on the recent flooding that ravaged the farmlands and agricultural produce in the country.
Dr Mekamma who stated this in an interview with our correspondent in Port Harcourt, noted that the effect of the flooding wrecked havoc on the agricultural value chain, even as the floods had receded.
Some of the agricultural value chain, according to him, include inaccessibility to the farm land due to the flood, inability to transport agric produce to the various markets across the country due to poor state of roads.
“Silos and other storage facilities were equally affect as well as agric processing machines. Most of the crops rot away both in the farmland and at the warehouses”, he maintained.
Dr Mekanma posited that due to short supply of produce to the market occasioned by the floods, with its associated increase in demand, there was no alternative for traders than to hike prices of food items.
He regretted that in spite of the increase in the prices of food items, workers salaries remain stagnant as the proposed minimum wage is still in contention.
The agric expert enjoined government at various levels to take proactive measures to cushion the effect of shortage of food supply and its attendant hike in price.

By: Kinika Mpi.